1868-1958
Yokoyama Taikan is an important pre-WWII Japanese painter of the Meiji to Showa period. He was born in Ibaraki prefecture and his birth name was Sakai Hidemaro. He was taught by the leading art scholar, Okakura Tenshin, and Kano school painter, Hashimoto Gaho. He helped establish the Nihon Bijutsuin (Japan Visual Arts Academy) in 1898 and, together with Hishida Shunso, developed, what was called, ""Mourou-tai"" (blurred style) painting. Being a vanguard of Nihon-ga (Japanese style painting), he aimed to create a new painting aesthetic for a new era and continue to create innovative works all throughout the Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods. His painted the ultimate symbol of Japan, Mt. Fuji so often that it became called, ""Taikan no Fuji"" (Taikan's Fuji). He is a receiver of the Bunkakunsho (Order of Culture).
